Tuesday May 24th
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| Note the egg peaking out from under this nesting Least Tern |
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| Least Tern |
Today I returned to the Least Tern nesting area on Ft Myers Beach to see how they have been progressing. Hundreds of the terns remain actively nesting and many have already fledged. Hundreds Black Skimmers have now joined the terns and appear to be nesting as well.
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| Least Tern |
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| Snowy Plover |
Sighted at least nine Snowy Plovers, but didn't see any juveniles. One poor guy was suffering from foot rot.
Did see a family of Wilson's Plovers with three very young chicks.
Best sighting was spotting a young American Oystercatcher chick with its parents. Seems to me that past nesting attempts here by oystercatchers suffered from predation, so it was a pleasure to see the baby bird today.
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| Nesting Black Skimmer |
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| Wilson's Plover with Chicks |
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American Oystercatcher Chick
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| Mottled Duck |
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| Male Black Scoter over summering in Florida |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Brown Pelicans |
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| Closest I've ever been to a Hammerhead Shark |
If we've observed the same bird, the over-summering scoter has a problem with its right foot causing a slight limp as I recall. The American Oystercatcher chick is a huge development. Great documentation, Tom.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the breeding success of the Oystercatchers, Tom. I believe disturbance in past years has caused nesting failure at this venue.
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